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Joaquin Arce, Lella Ford to star in youth series ‘Juan and Lily Run for SK’


Article (news)

Ganiel Krishnan

ABS-CBN News

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width: 960px; display: block;" width="960"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1788433546162viber_image_2026-09-03_18-21-22-462.jpg" style="width: 960px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"><span class="fr-inner">Joaquin Arce, Lella Ford and the cast of &lsquo;Juan and Lily Run for SK.&rsquo; <em>ABS-CBN News</em></span></span></span></div><p>Joaquin Arce and Lella Ford are set to team up for the upcoming series &ldquo;Juan and Lily Run for SK,&rdquo; a youth-oriented story that will mix comedy and friendship with themes surrounding Philippine politics and public service.</p><p>The project will mark Ford&rsquo;s first acting series, while Arce teased that viewers can expect an entertaining story that also touches on issues relevant to young Filipinos.</p><p>&ldquo;Super excited! Alam na namin &#39;yung outline and sobrang ganda ng kwento. I love it! That&rsquo;s all I can say,&rdquo; Arce shared.</p><p>Ford, meanwhile, could hardly contain her excitement over finally landing her first project.</p><p>&ldquo;Sobrang excited ko lang po since this is going to be my first-ever project ever,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;Ang ganda rin po ng story. It&rsquo;s something na kahit hindi po ako &#39;yung mag-play, kahit hindi po ako &#39;yung artista dito, it&rsquo;s something na papanoorin ko talaga in real life.&rdquo;</p><p>Adding to her excitement is the opportunity to work alongside people she already considers close friends.</p><p>&ldquo;Syempre kasama ko rin &#39;yung mga kaibigan namin, very close friends namin na si Krystal, Ellie, Miguel, and si Fred. So, ayun po, masaya po,&rdquo; Ford said.</p><p>While Arce was careful not to reveal too much about the plot, he shared that &ldquo;Juan and Lily: Running for SK&rdquo; will revolve around young characters entering local politics through the Sangguniang Kabataan.</p><div><br></div><iframe class="instagram-media instagram-media-rendered" id="instagram-embed-3" src="https://www.instagram.com/reel/Dc0cGs3S3EX/embed/?cr=1&v=14&wp=540&rd=https%3A%2F%2Fod2-workbench-web.abs-cbn.com&rp=%2F#%7B%22ci%22%3A3%2C%22os%22%3A7830980.5%2C%22ls%22%3A36160.89999961853%2C%22le%22%3A36383.89999961853%7D" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="true" frameborder="0" height="881" data-instgrm-payload-id="instagram-media-payload-3" scrolling="no" style="background: white; max-width: 540px; width: calc(100% - 2px); border-radius: 3px; border: 1px solid rgb(219, 219, 219); box-shadow: none; display: block; margin: 0px 0px 12px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0px;"></iframe><script async="" src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script><div><br></div><p>&ldquo;So the gist of it, basically, political nepo babies kami. And we&rsquo;re running for SK, Sangguniang Kabataan. And yeah, that&rsquo;s what the story revolves around,&rdquo; he explained.</p><div><br><strong>SERIOUS THEMES</strong></div><p>Despite its youthful and comedic premise, Arce said the series will explore more serious themes involving Philippine politics.</p><p>&ldquo;I like the fact na SK siya, na Sangguniang Kabataan. So parang you may think na hindi siya ganun ka-seryoso, but parang may mga themes na nagpo-poke sa, syempre, politics world ng Pilipinas,&rdquo; he said.</p><p>Arce added that the series hopes to tackle issues while keeping the story entertaining and accessible to viewers.</p><p>&ldquo;Alam naman natin lahat na parang medyo kailangan natin baguhin, or hindi naman sa baguhin, but make it better. And of course, madaming issues na tatalakayin namin sa show na ito. Kaya sobrang importante yun,&rdquo; he said.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/entertainment/showbiz/celebrities/2026/4/23/joaquin-arce-opens-up-about-angel-locsin-s-mentorship-modern-family-setup-1549"><strong>READ: Joaquin Arce opens up about Angel Locsin&rsquo;s mentorship<br></strong></a></div><p>&ldquo;And on top of that, it&rsquo;s an entertaining plot. It&rsquo;s an entertaining, kumbaga, story. So not only do you get to tackle those issues, pero as in, mapapatawa ka talaga sa mga scenes, sa mga gagawin namin as friends.&rdquo;&nbsp;</p><p>For Ford, landing the series comes after months of preparation even before she knew when her first acting opportunity would arrive.</p><p>&ldquo;Lahat po ng workshop na pwede kong pasukan, pinasukan ko po talaga,&rdquo; she shared. &ldquo;Nung habang wala pa po akong projects, puro preparations lang po talaga ginawa ko, workshops.&rdquo;</p><p>She also made sure to prepare physically for the demands of the project.</p><p>&ldquo;I prepared myself physically also. Went to the gym. Ganun po,&rdquo; she added.</p><p>Ford revealed that she and her co-stars would even use their free time together to practice.</p><p>&ldquo;Actually, yes. Like in our free time, lagi kaming nagbibisita sa isa&rsquo;t isa. Para wala lang, mag-actingan,&rdquo; she said.</p><div><br><strong>PRESSURE</strong></div><p>Still, Ford admitted that stepping into her first project comes with nerves and pressure.</p><p>&ldquo;Of course! Sobra po, sobra akong kinakabahan. But parang na-overpower pa rin siya ng excitement ko at the same time,&rdquo; she said.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/entertainment/showbiz/celebrities/2026/3/19/lella-ford-gets-candid-about-controversies-and-nepo-baby-tag-0809"><strong>READ: Lella Ford gets candid about controversies and &lsquo;nepo baby&rsquo; tag<br></strong></a></div><p>&ldquo;Because &#39;yun nga po, this is my first project. And yeah, I&rsquo;m just gonna give all my best. And I&rsquo;m just really gonna enjoy and try to give the people and our supporters a very good entertainment.&rdquo;</p><p>Asked about the pressure that comes with the opportunity, Ford acknowledged that it is there but said she plans to use it as motivation.</p><p>&ldquo;Siyempre may pressure. Pero kailangan natin labanan &#39;yun para mas lumabas yung galing ko,&rdquo; she said.</p><p>Arce, meanwhile, said he is particularly excited for supporters who have been waiting to see the group together in a project.</p><p>&ldquo;Super, super excited ako para sa kanila kasi, as in, ang tagal na nilang naghihintay sa aming dalawa,&rdquo; he said.</p><p>He also acknowledged supporters of their fellow cast members, including Miguel Vergara, Krystal Mejes, Fred Moser and Eliza Borromeo.</p><p>&ldquo;As in, they were there since day one. And they deserve to get what they want. Kaya sobrang excited ako para sa kanila,&rdquo; Arce said.</p><div><br></div><div><strong>FROM THE ARCHIVES:</strong></div><div><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/cVCf5XwFq1Y?&wmode=opaque&rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><strong></strong><br></div>

<p>Joaquin Arce and Lella Ford are set to team up for the upcoming series 'Juan and Lily Run for SK,' a youth-oriented story that will mix comedy and friendship with themes surrounding Philippine politics and public service.</p>

Joaquin Arce and Lella Ford are set to team up for the upcoming series 'Juan and Lily Run for SK,' a youth-oriented story that will mix comedy and friendship with themes surrounding Philippine politics and public service.